All of you have made very valid points, but you are missing the main idea.

The man assumes he knows the woman because of her appearance. It is clear that he actually does not know her because he says so in the letter..

How do we know that she doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle?

How do we know she doesn't have a disorder and cannot lose weight?

How do we know that she is not trying? Maybe she is but is struggling.

OR

Maybe it is true - that she eats terribly and doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle - but that's not the point. The message she is sending here is that other people don't know your situation and should never judge you based on their assumptions

Although we cannot stop people from expressing their opinions, the lesson is important: do not judge people based on their appearance. Even if you think you are right (and maybe you are), you never know.. and you should probably learn something about the person before you make bold statements like that man did. [important: it would be different if he knew her]

Originally Posted by kschwab

All of you have made very valid points, but you are missing the main idea.

The man assumes he knows the woman because of her appearance. It is clear that he actually does not know her because he says so in the letter..

How do we know that she doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle?

How do we know she doesn't have a disorder and cannot lose weight?

How do we know that she is not trying? Maybe she is but is struggling.

OR

Maybe it is true - that she eats terribly and doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle - but that's not the point. The message she is sending here is that other people don't know your situation and should never judge you based on their assumptions

Although we cannot stop people from expressing their opinions, the lesson is important: do not judge people based on their appearance. Even if you think you are right (and maybe you are), you never know.. and you should probably learn something about the person before you make bold statements like that man did. [important: it would be different if he knew her]

I would agree with everything you just said if he had made the message a public announcement. What actually happened though is it was a private message to her, and she decided to blow it way out of proportion and act like she was a target of bullying.

Originally Posted by person33

hypothyrodism is a medical condition that can cause excessive weight gain as a side effect, many anti depressants have side effects that cause weight gain- this is not someone who has decided to be overweight and unless you know their exact situation you dont have any right to judge them or their life. i really dont care if you are the queen of england or the garbage collector its none of my business and the problem with people is that they are overly judgemental based on people's appearances. maybe it is up to a parent if they notice their kid is eating too much junk to step up, but its not my place as a stranger to go up to them and say "your kids a fat ass stop feeding them crap" maybe thats just how i was raised to have empathy and not judge someone until i know the whole story

well, it is your business if it's the queen of England. You pay taxes to her

Obesity is becoming just as large a killer as smoking. It is socially acceptable to tell people they should stop smoking and to publicly ridicule them for it. The same goes for drug use and many other destructive habits roaming within society.. Why is it wrong to tell someone they should try and lose some weight.

Good on that lacrost(?) man to tell a news anchor to change her lifestyle. Especially if it has been unhealthy for so many years.

Shame on her for hiding under the cover of anti-bullying month. As an adult that's bringing a 6-figure, you should face your demons and issues.

Want to bring bullying to perspective? Good for you, how about you do a piece about school kids instead of justifying your destructive cake-stuffing habits.

Obviously when you have a lifelong career of skewing a journalist's reports to your's and the stations favour it's all too tempting to cry foul and poison a message when someone pushes you to better your life.

I just hope this lady wakes up in time to change her lifestyle and mind. So that she may see her three children grow up, at the least. What a sad example to her kids..


And she is the one telling us "Generation Y" is lazy and bad. When in reality, she is no better.

Being "happy" with a dangerously over weight body isn't something you should tell the local townspeople to follow. You should tell them "yo i'm going to be on my deathbed with a quintuple bypass wishing I wasn't such a bigot."
or "Hey if you have an unhealthy body now, you'll have a really really really have a bad time later."


You have choices in this life, you can lose weight. You can choose to ignore a problem and make someone seem far worse than they really are. You can twist news, or be truthful.

You can choose to live to see your kids graduate, marry and become successful. But that's not fun, because it's so much easier to get attention by consistently covering your poor habits with poorly-chosen veils.


That's my view on it. Frankly I don't care if you agree or disagree.

I was referring to different disorders, one of which is Wolman disease (though there are many other related ones that aren't as rare).

... FFS. "Characteristical ly, it presents in early infancy with diarrhea, massive hepatosplenomegaly, failure to thrive, and calcification of adrenal glands." Much less than ~1/200000 in the US have Wolman's, so to use that as an excuse for obese people to not cut down on fatty foods and exercise is a load of crap. The chance of someone dying from inactivity and poor diet is much greater than the possibility that they have some genetic issue where they die if they reduce their fat intake.

Also, acknowledging that not everyone is obese due to poor lifestyle choices isn't normalizing it

I acknowledged that there are medical conditions and medications can cause weight gain. Like I said earlier, too many people are obese because of lifestyle issues. There are also people with medical conditions, who still eat like crap/don't exercise and justify their weight gain under the premise of their condition.

The thing that bothered me the most is her quote "....Who are struggling with their weight, colour of skin, or sexual preference or disability ....". You have no control over the latter items and equating them to obesity, which in a majority cases you have some degree of control over is demeaning.

Originally Posted by Lois

... FFS. "Characteristical ly, it presents in early infancy with diarrhea, massive hepatosplenomegaly, failure to thrive, and calcification of adrenal glands." Much less than ~1/200000 in the US have Wolman's, so to use that as an excuse for obese people to not cut down on fatty foods and exercise is a load of crap. The chance of someone dying from inactivity and poor diet is much greater than the possibility that they have some genetic issue where they die if they reduce their fat intake.

I acknowledged that there are medical conditions and medications can cause weight gain. Like I said earlier, too many people are obese because of lifestyle issues. There are also people with medical conditions, who still eat like crap/don't exercise and justify their weight gain under the premise of their condition.

The thing that bothered me the most is her quote "....Who are struggling with their weight, colour of skin, or sexual preference or disability ....". You have no control over the latter items and equating them to obesity, which in a majority cases you have some degree of control over is demeaning.

I never said it was an excuse. You're still assuming that she IS eating fatty foods and not exercising, and that's my whole point that you seem to be missing. Just because the MAJORITY of obesity is caused by lifestyle choices, that does not mean people ALWAYS have control over it, there's a whole continuum from people who can't gain weight no matter how much they try, to people who can't lose weight no matter how much they try, and everything in between, as a result of genetics and/or medications. Heck, you could have someone with a disorder that makes it difficult for them to exercise. There are disorders that cause uncontrollable, constant hunger as well, and some people's families are better equipped to help them deal with this than others. My point is that you have no right to assume you know why someone is obese if you don't even know them.
Also I don't know where you're getting your information on Wolman's from.

All of you have made very valid points, but you are missing the main idea.

The man assumes he knows the woman because of her appearance. It is clear that he actually does not know her because he says so in the letter..

How do we know that she doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle?

How do we know she doesn't have a disorder and cannot lose weight?

How do we know that she is not trying? Maybe she is but is struggling.

OR

Maybe it is true - that she eats terribly and doesn't promote a healthy lifestyle - but that's not the point. The message she is sending here is that other people don't know your situation and should never judge you based on their assumptions

Although we cannot stop people from expressing their opinions, the lesson is important: do not judge people based on their appearance. Even if you think you are right (and maybe you are), you never know.. and you should probably learn something about the person before you make bold statements like that man did. [important: it would be different if he knew her]

Your Missing the point. She is fat. No ones making any implications about her health, lifestyle or ability to lose weight. Whether she likes it or not, or is capable of doing anything about it is another argument. She if fat, true statement, end of discussion, call me a bully, whatever go make a 4 minuet youtube video about.

Either way, the guy who sent the letter is at best, a busybody. Who needs a damn life.

Originally Posted by starfish

I never said it was an excuse. You're still assuming that she IS eating fatty foods and not exercising, and that's my whole point that you seem to be missing. Just because the MAJORITY of obesity is caused by lifestyle choices, that does not mean people ALWAYS have control over it, there's a whole continuum from people who can't gain weight no matter how much they try, to people who can't lose weight no matter how much they try, and everything in between, as a result of genetics and/or medications. Heck, you could have someone with a disorder that makes it difficult for them to exercise. There are disorders that cause uncontrollable, constant hunger as well, and some people's families are better equipped to help them deal with this than others. My point is that you have no right to assume you know why someone is obese if you don't even know them.
Also I don't know where you're getting your information on Wolman's from.

From a text, but this is legitimate: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/wolman-disease

Wolman disease is estimated to occur in 1 in 350,000 newborns. Infants with Wolman disease are healthy and active at birth but soon develop signs and symptoms of the disorder. These may include an enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), poor weight gain, low muscle tone, a yellow tint to the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice), vomiting, diarrhea, developmental delay, low amounts of iron in the blood (anemia), and poor absorption of nutrients from food. Children affected by this condition develop severe malnutrition and generally do not survive past early childhood.

My point: People cannot change their race or sexual orientation at all. To have this woman a equate obesity to something that people have absolutely no control over is damaging for our society's health. It encourages people to blame other things for their weight gain rather than taking responsibility for their own actions. Obviously, there are some rare cases where obesity is solely caused by an underlying medical issue despite lifestyle intervention and I believe that most people are aware of exceptions.

This coddling *has* come into the medical community where docs have gotten in trouble for calling their patients obese (google search for examples) and I've noticed some that are reluctant to point out the obvious. If you recall one of the globeandmail articles, many people are unaware that their children are overweight/obese. Usually physicians should be pointing this out, but perhaps they worry that they are going to hurt the kid's self-esteem or offend the parents.

I didn't agree with the unsolicited email; however, this video seems to have encouraged the fat acceptance movement (Look at comments on youtube or news article).

Originally Posted by Lois

From a text, but this is legitimate: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/wolman-disease

Wolman disease is estimated to occur in 1 in 350,000 newborns. Infants with Wolman disease are healthy and active at birth but soon develop signs and symptoms of the disorder. These may include an enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), poor weight gain, low muscle tone, a yellow tint to the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice), vomiting, diarrhea, developmental delay, low amounts of iron in the blood (anemia), and poor absorption of nutrients from food. Children affected by this condition develop severe malnutrition and generally do not survive past early childhood.

My point: People cannot change their race or sexual orientation at all. To have this woman a equate obesity to something that people have absolutely no control over is damaging for our society's health. It encourages people to blame other things for their weight gain rather than taking responsibility for their own actions. Obviously, there are some rare cases where obesity is solely caused by an underlying medical issue despite lifestyle intervention and I believe that most people are aware of exceptions.

This coddling *has* come into the medical community where docs have gotten in trouble for calling their patients obese (google search for examples) and I've noticed some that are reluctant to point out the obvious. If you recall one of the globeandmail articles, many people are unaware that their children are overweight/obese. Usually physicians should be pointing this out, but perhaps they worry that they are going to hurt the kid's self-esteem or offend the parents.

I didn't agree with the unsolicited email; however, this video seems to have encouraged the fat acceptance movement (Look at comments on youtube or news article).

That same cite says multiple times that affected individuals accumulate excess fat. You seem to be referring to all body mass as contributing to someone being fat, whereas I am referring to someone being fat as having excess lipids and enlarged adipocytes.

The guy who sent her a letter was not her doctor nor a friend or relative. He does not know her situation and has no right to assume he does. It's a very different situation from a doctor telling their patient that they are overweight. Whether or not doctors discuss obesity with their patients is irrelevant to some random guy writing this woman a letter saying she is overweight. Even if he is a doctor, he's not HER doctor.

Also I think people are overreacting to her comment about racism and sexual orientation. The message I took from her comment is that you shouldn't judge people based on stereotypes about certain attributes. The same could apply to someone with a lot of tattoos/piercings.

Originally Posted by Kudos

Either way, the guy who sent the letter is at best, a busybody. Who needs a damn life.

you spelt active member of the community wrong.

Originally Posted by starfish

That same cite says multiple times that affected individuals accumulate excess fat. You seem to be referring to all body mass as contributing to someone being fat, whereas I am referring to someone being fat as having excess lipids and enlarged adipocytes.

What type of health care professional are you? Frankly I'm terrified of your lack of ability to analyze information in the context of patient care/clinical presentation.

1. Your original premise that an obese person may have a health condition where consuming a healthy diet could be harmful (the example you gave was Wolman's).
2. A patient with Wolman's looks a hell of a lot different than your typical obese person. Yes, there is fat build up in the liver, spleen, guts which could lead to abdominal distention; however the rest of the person would be incredibly skinny because of malabsorption of nutrients from the gut and excessive vomiting = poor weight gain, excessive weight loss. If a person were to survive to adulthood, a lay person would be able to figure out that something was up based on appearance.

I'm going to leave it here because you don't seem to understand Wolman's disease even though you brought it up as an excuse for people to be obese (which is clinically based off of BMI).

TBH, I don't really care about the guy who sent the letter. My annoyance is with the journalist essentially propagating obesity acceptance (see video comments). It's encouraging people who are obese to "love their bodies" even though they're a walking time bomb, to blame medical conditions/meds as the sole cause of their obesity, and there are some physicians who shy away from the issue of obesity (especially in the pediatric population).

Originally Posted by Lois

What type of health care professional are you? Frankly I'm terrified of your lack of ability to analyze information in the context of patient care/clinical presentation.

1. Your original premise that an obese person may have a health condition where consuming a healthy diet could be harmful (the example you gave was Wolman's).
2. A patient with Wolman's looks a hell of a lot different than your typical obese person. Yes, there is fat build up in the liver, spleen, guts which could lead to abdominal distention; however the rest of the person would be incredibly skinny because of malabsorption of nutrients from the gut and excessive vomiting = poor weight gain, excessive weight loss. If a person were to survive to adulthood, a lay person would be able to figure out that something was up based on appearance.

I'm going to leave it here because you don't seem to understand Wolman's disease even though you brought it up as an excuse for people to be obese (which is clinically based off of BMI).

TBH, I don't really care about the guy who sent the letter. My annoyance is with the journalist essentially propagating obesity acceptance (see video comments). It's encouraging people who are obese to "love their bodies" even though they're a walking time bomb, to blame medical conditions/meds as the sole cause of their obesity, and there are some physicians who shy away from the issue of obesity (especially in the pediatric population).

My younger brother has Wolman's. Pretty sure I know what someone with the disorder "looks like". And your focus on that disease in particular shows that you missed my point entirely, and if you haven't got it by now there's really not a point in wasting any more of my time. Also, I never said someone with Wolman's doesn't need to have a healthy diet. Granted, a "healthy diet" in someone with Wolman's is a bit different than that of someone without, but not in a bad way.

BMI is incredibly outdated and inaccurate in terms of predicting future risk. For example, I have a BMI that is borderline underweight, but pretty much all the fat I do have is around my abdomen, increasing my risk for heart disease and other related concerns anyways.

To your last point, yes, saying that it's fine to be obese is a bad thing, but so is the opposite. You need a middle ground. I don't think encouraging people to hate themselves or their body is ever a good thing. If as a health professional you are treating obese people like this, then I am terrified of your lack of sensitivity and understanding that people have feelings that need to be taken seriously if they are going to make positive changes in their lives.

My occupation is irrelevant, but I have worked closely with people with eating disorders, so perhaps my judgment is coloured by that.

Anyways, yeah. This post pretty much says the same thing as all my others...I still don't think you get my point, but I really don't care anymore. PM me if you want to respond, so we stop hijacking this thread

I only brought up Wolman's because you did after you mentioned "It is in some cases where the person is predisposed to being overweight, but in some cases it can cause excess fat accumulation, and decreasing food intake is actually dangerous because the food isn't being used for energy". I only focused on that because all the legitimate sources on Wolman's indicates that it predisposes individuals to being underweight and I hate misinformation. /discussion on sort of irrelevant topic?

I agree with your comment on BMI, but thankfully doctors take that number in clinical context.

Not accepting obesity as something that should be "loved" != encouraging people to hate themselves. There are people who don't think that the anchor woman is overweight, many children don't know that they're overweight and as a result they don't do anything about it. We're so afraid of eating disorders that we've gone too far in the opposite direction.

edit: started writing this before your last edit, too lazy to copy and paste into a PM.

Way to be a hypocrite, with all of the prejudging business when you've never actually seen me in a professional context or I could have Asperger syndrome for all you know. In all seriousness, I've discussed weight loss with many patients and they all seemed to like me after the fact.

Originally Posted by ZSimon

you spelt active member of the community wrong.

You're right. Do you offer marital counseling to every couple you see fighting at the supermarket? What about those orange-y girls you see in class in the dead of January who are obviously using tanning beds? I hope you take the time to let them know that tanning is an extremely unhealthy habit. I sincerely hope you yell at smokers you pass by. They're the worst offenders.